FC St. Pauli

Head coach Fabian Hürzeler made two changes to the side that beat Kaiserslautern 1-0 at home last time out. Jannes Wieckhoff deputised at right-back for the suspended Manolis Saliakas to make his first start since the 1-0 defeat at Hannover on 11 September 2021. And with Eric Smith forced to withdraw with a muscle problem, Betim Fazliji slotted into the middle of the back three. 

FCM boss Christian Titz made just one adjustment, Tim Sechelmann replacing Silas Gnaka in central defence. Otherwise, it was the same team that came from behind twice to win 3-2 at Holstein Kiel last week. Both sets of fans observed a minute’s silence before kick-off in memory of a Magdeburg supporter who passed away recently.

When the game kicked off it was the Boys in Brown who fashioned the first opportunity in the third minute when the advancing Wieckhoff capped a fine move by shooting over. The Hürzeler XI continued to shine in the opening quarter of an hour, repeatedly trying to combine their way into the danger area in front of the Magdeburg goal. At the same time, they made life difficult for the home side with some resolute tackling and solid defending. Magdeburg threatened for the first time from a set piece after 12 minutes when a ball in from Baris Atik eventually found its way to Maximilian Ullmann, who screwed his shot horribly wide from the right channel. 

At the other end, Connor Metcalfe went much closer when Dapo Afolayan beat two defenders on the left and whipped a cross in towards the Australian at the back post, and his first-time effort fizzed just past the upright. Within seconds, the Boys in Brown were awarded a free-kick that Leart Paqarada dinked over the top for Marcel Hartel to collect and thrash the ball wide of the goal – the second of two decent chances in the opening period. In the 17^th minute, it was the home side who came close to scoring when Moritz Kwarteng broke clear and hit a low drive towards the far corner, but goalkeeper Nikola Vasilj was down quickly to his right to make a fine save.

That marked the beginning of a sustained spell of pressure from the home side in which Ullmann fired over in the 23^rd minute. The Boys in Brown weathered the initial storm, however, and began to probe from the half-hour mark, without ever seriously threatening. Soon they were back-pedalling again, with Magdeburg launching a series of quick counterattacks that eventually saw them take the lead on 39 after winning possession from a throw-in. Amara Condé slipped the ball to Baris Atik in space and he curled a shot beyond Vasilj from the edge of the box. After three clean sheets in a row, the St. Pauli keeper was finally beaten. There was to be no further action and the Boys in Brown went in a goal down at the break.

The introduction of Maurides for Wieckhoff at the beginning of the second half was intended to add more punch up front. Metcalfe dropped to full-back in place of the youngster. The first chance fell to the hosts in the 52^nd minute, however, when Mohammed El Hankouri was fed by Kwarteng in the box but was unable to get the better of Vasilj. Three minutes later Reimann was forced to intervene at the other end when Maurides tested him with a header. Unfortunately, the ball flew straight to the Magdeburg keeper. 

Nevertheless, the Boys in Brown were in the ascendency now and carrying a constant threat in attack. Christian Titz attempted to stem the flow with a double substitution and his side carved out a decent opportunity after 65 minutes when striker Luc Castaignos, one of the two men introduced, was denied by a fine Vasilj save. Then, with some 20 minutes left to play, Maurides had a golden opportunity to level the scores when Lukas Daschner headed a Paqarada cross back across goal to the Brazilian, who was left completely unmarked in the middle, only for Maurides to smash the ball over the bar from close range.

Jackson Irvine demonstrated how it was done in the 74^th minute, however, his powerful header from a Paqarada corner sneaking inside the post to make it 1-1. With neither side content to settle for a draw, things got a little scrappy in the closing stages. The Hürzeler XI kept trying to play football, though, and got their reward in the 88^th minute when Marcel Hartel threaded a lovely ball through to Jakov Medić, who completed a memorable comeback to ensure his side took all three points back to Hamburg with a 2-1 win.

FC Magdeburg

Reimann - Bockhorn (Lawrence 80’), Heber, Sechelmann, Ullmann - Elfadli, Condé (Rieckmann 85’) - El Hankouri (Ito 61’), Kwarteng, Atik - Brünker (Castaignos 61’)

Head coach: Christian Titz

FC St. Pauli

Vasilj - Medić, Fazliji (Otto 69’), Mets - Wieckhoff (Maurides 46’), Irvine, Hartel, Paqarada - Metcalfe, Daschner (Matanović 87), Afolayan (Beifus 90’+2)

Head coach: Fabian Hürzeler

Goals: 1-0 Atik (39’), 1-1 Irvine (74’), 1-2 Medić (88’)

Yellow cards: Kwarteng, Sechelmann – Paqarada

Referee: Patrick Alt

Attendance: 24,287

Photos: FC St. Pauli